Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Volume 5 Chapter 26   Mizuki: Dragon Battle Start

── Miyano Mizuki ──

While Koosuke and the others were confronting a dragon, Mizuki and the rest were also engaged in a battle with a dragon that suddenly appeared from a gate.

“Gah! Dragons are indeed powerful!”

In the first attack, the dragons hadn’t recognized Mizuki and the others as enemies, so they managed to take down one of them by attacking when the dragon passed through the gate, catching it off guard. However, despite fighting for almost thirty minutes since then, they hadn’t been able to defeat any more of them, only able to inflict some injuries.

Even now, it remained the same. The dragon’s scales were incredibly tough, and despite Mizuki’s sword skills, she couldn’t get her blade to reach beneath the scales to the flesh beneath.

“But still!”

Nevertheless, Mizuki couldn’t give up. She stood up again and readied her sword.

However, while partially protected by Yuzu’s magic, she couldn’t continue fighting forever. If Yuzu’s magic ran out, the defensive barrier would lose its effectiveness, and the strengthening magic on herself would also dissipate.

If it happened like that, I could easily imagine the outcome. There’s no way I could face four dragons alone.

Just by fighting, I’m already using up my strength and reaching my limits.

In that case, I need to defeat them as much as I can while I still have some strength left.

So, even if it’s a bit reckless, I’ll charge in.

At that moment, as Mizuki was contemplating this, an incredibly heavy object seemed to collide with the dragon’s feet, creating a loud noise and a powerful impact. Simultaneously, the dragon let out a scream and fell on its side.

“Mizuki!”

Without her realizing it, Kana had approached the dragon’s feet and appeared to have struck and repelled the dragon.

Then, as if urging her to seize the opportunity, Kana called out Mizuki’s name, and Mizuki responded immediately, though without saying a word.

“Haaaah!”

Mizuki sprinted with all her might towards the fallen dragon.

Her sword was infused with lightning, and with every step she took, the power and brilliance of the lightning increased.

And then—

“Second one!”

With the dragon knocked on its side, its vulnerable abdomen was exposed. Mizuki swung her sword aimed at where its heart would be, finally bringing the second dragon to a halt.

“Hey, Kana. Have you become incredibly strong or is it just me?”

Even though Mizuki immediately retreated to create distance after defeating the dragon, she found herself asking Kana that question unconsciously as Kana approached her.

Blowing away a powerful being like a dragon was something Kana couldn’t have done before.

And yet, now she delivered a strike strong enough to disrupt the dragon’s posture.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that the dragon’s scales, which even Mizuki struggled to harm, were cracked in a radial pattern at the spot where Kana had struck.

Perhaps it was due to compatibility between individuals.

However, witnessing Kana accomplishing what she herself couldn’t do, Mizuki couldn’t help but react.

“Of course! I’m not just fooling around here.”

In response to Mizuki’s question, Kana glanced at her briefly but immediately returned her gaze to the dragons standing before them.

Observing Kana’s demeanor, Mizuki seemed to be lost in thought, and she quietly parted her lips to speak.

“Get back!”

However, before Mizuki could say anything, she heard a voice from behind, Haruka’s voice, and both of them leaped backward simultaneously.

Not only one, but the dragons seemed even more shaken by the fact that they were defeated up to the second one, something they hadn’t anticipated.

Haruka’s attack exploited the opening created by this turmoil.

From directly beneath the dragons, a pillar of flames spiraled up, piercing the sky.

Amidst the flames, screams could be heard, but by the time the flames subsided, the charred remains of the dragon lay where the flames had soared to the heavens.

Perhaps one magic spell was not enough to bring down a dragon with resistance to magic and fire. The dragon still seemed to move faintly, but that was only for a brief period. Anyone could see that it was impossible to continue fighting after this.

“That’s three down. I’m totally exhausted, but… I can do it! I can still do this!”

Kana, who delivered a strike strong enough to flip the dragon, and Haruka, who cast a powerful spell to burn the dragon, were both considerably depleted.

However, from the initial five dragons, only two remained, and that brought some sense of ease to Kana and the others.

Perhaps that’s why.

“Mizuki, I told you, right? I’ll stand beside you, even surpass you.”

While keeping an eye on the remaining dragon, Kana turned to Mizuki and spoke with a serious look in her eyes.

“This is the perfect opportunity. I’ll go ‘ahead’ of you.”

With those words, Kana let go of one of the weapons she was holding with both hands and reached into the pouch at her waist to take out a small stone, about the size of her thumb.

It was her secret weapon. The culmination of the training she asked Koosuke for to surpass Mizuki.

She hadn’t fully mastered it yet, but she made up her mind to use it now. After all, if not here, then where?

Mizuki didn’t understand what it was, but she could comprehend that it was something meant to help Kana go ‘ahead’ of her.

“That’s…” Mizuki started to speak, but the words got stuck as she recalled her realization when Koosuke told her how she looked down on her supposed comrades.

The provocative smile directed at her from the person she saw as ‘below.’

The effective strike against the dragon, something she couldn’t achieve earlier.

All these memories of Kana, combined with those recent events, rushed through her mind, and Mizuki found herself unconsciously clenching her fist.

She couldn’t lose. She couldn’t afford to lose.

…No, that’s not it. It’s not about not wanting to lose or not being able to afford to lose. It’s about not wanting to lose myself.

Because I am a friend, a companion, and… a rival!

As Mizuki clearly understood her feelings within, a confident smile appeared on her lips. Stepping forward, she stood beside Kana and then took another step forward.

“I’m definitely not letting you get ahead.”

In response to Mizuki’s provocative words, Kana also smiled, channeling power into the magic stone in her hand, preparing to use her new technique—

“What?!”

“That’s it!”

—But before she could, they noticed something unusual.

The dragon, scorched by Haruka’s attack and lying on the ground, was still alive. Its pride as the strongest species of dragon had been wounded.

To accept such a thing was out of the question. It couldn’t bear just being defeated like this!

While it’s uncertain if the dragon consciously thought this way, its emotions were likely on point.

Hence, the dragon, willing to sacrifice its life, poured its entire existence into a single spell with the sole purpose of killing those who had brought it to this state.

In other words, it was self-destruct.

Though on the brink of death, the attack unleashed by a top-tier being willing to stake its life spread shockwaves that were incomparable to anything seen before.

“Ah—!”

As a result of the dragon’s life-defying attack, the defensive barrier that Yuzu had placed around Mizuki and Kana was shattered, and both of them were sent flying by the force of the explosion, unable to even utter a scream.